Charms
by Peremptory Decisions
Summary: Lily's story, from Hogwarts to her death, if I can continue it that long. Who knows? I might get inspired one of these days. NOTE: Done yet incomplete. I won't be continuing
1. Ready

Main Disclamer: I own nothing that doesn't belong to me.

* * *

_Charms_

Chapter One  
Ready...

* * *

Lily Evans was a normal girl of a normal family in a normal suburban village near London. It was about 5 in the morning, and the sun was peaking into her otherwise darkened room. A gust of wind flitted around her face, she smiled in her sleep. She turned over and ducked her head under a pillow to hide from the sun for a few more hours. 

At 8:30, Lily Evans' dad burst into the room with a smile on his face. He was in his early thirties, and had thick brown hair. In the daylight, crow's feet would have been obvious around emerald green eyes. He had a few pock-marks on his otherwise handsome face, and his hands showed the wear of being a blue-collar worker. He was already dressed for work in black jeans and a maroon short sleeve shirt, both with tell-tale signs of strenuous use.

It was too dark to see much in Lily's room. Her dadwent over to throw open the curtains to reveal daylight into Lily's eyes. The curtains didn't move an inch, yet there was a steady breeze still ruffling Lily's dark red hair.She rolled over in her sleep, unaware that her father was trying to yank the curtains apart, then trying to seperate them from the wall, then the windowsill, to no avail. Finally, her father gave up, flicked on the ceiling light, and shook Lily awake.

Lily squinted her eyes and glared at him, hoping that he would go away. Instead of excusing himself quietly after an embarrassing losing battle with curtains, her dad leaned in close to Lily's face, opened his startling green eyes wide, and said loudly in a sing-song voice, "WAKEY WAKEY, EGGS AND BAKEY!" It was, if anything, an attempt to keep his nerve.

"Shurrup, Dad..." Lily moaned groggily, but tumbled clumsily from the bed, taking half of her bright green bedsheets with her. Her father took one last look at the curtains, which almost mockingly opened toshow bright sunlight, Lily's small garden-box,and the street below. He pivoted on his heel, and tried to make a dignified excape.

* * *

About a week later, Lily was lazing around in her room. It was sunny outside, her garden-box flowers were in full bloom, and happiness was reflected all around her, from her sky-blue walls to her green bed and shag carpet, from her cloudlike ceiling light to the daylily colored base board. Suddenly, she heard a rat-tat-tat on her window. She flung herself off of her bed and over to her partly-open window and opened it fully. A tawny owl quickly dropped something on her bed and soared right back out of Lily's bedroom window. 

Lily ran back to her bed and grabbed what the owl had dropped. It was heavy parchment with a purple seal, a crest of sorts that included a badger, a snake, a raven, and a lion, all intertwined around a large H. She broke the seal and her eyes roved around the letter enclosed.

"_Dear Miss L. Evans_,

_We are pleased to inform you_-"

-_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_-"

"-_A representative will come Saturday to receive your decision_-"

Lily couldn't have been more thrilled. As she kept unfolding the letter, another piece of parchment fell out, this describing what she would need if she could go to Hogwarts. Her pulse was racing with excitment, and she whooped with happiness. She couldn't wait to go show her mum!

* * *

On Saturday, as the letter had stated, an unfamiliar and quite eccentric man walked up to the Evans' front door and rang the doorbell. He was wearing a tealvelvet suit with a blazing yellow shirt and a vivid purple tie. His hair was greying, but had a little bit of brown peppered into the mix, and his beard was quite long. Even though his face was wrinkled, it still held the joys of youth, and yet looked like the wisest person Lily could ever hope to meet. Lilyhad been watching him through an upstairs window overlooking the street and ran down the stairs, knocking on the door to her dad's den and making sure her parents were ready. She bolted towards the door and, after getting there, paused to brush herself off and slow her heart rate before opening the door as calmly as she could manage. 

"Hello, you must be Lily. My name is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts. I hope you've accepted?"

"Um, yeah, I have." Lily turned to face the stairs. "MUUM! DAAD!"

Dumbledore tried to hide a smile. He watched as Lily's parents came down the stairs. Lily's mum had to quickly get her purse out of the kitchen, and Lily quickly grabbed her acceptance letter and school list before they headed off.

"How are we getting there? To Diagon Alley?" Lily had no trouble remembering the name as she had read the letters more times than some people pick up books. She glanced from her dad to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was about a head shorter than Lily's dad, and Lily's mum was even shorter still. Lily, as she had not yet reached her growth spurt, was the shortest of them all.

Her dad looked at Dumbledore questioningly. Dumbledore wasn't fazed at all. "We can get there any way you like. Although, within reason. For example, a submarine would not get you to Diagon Alley, although it might be fun to ride in one."

"Will a car work? I think we can all fit in mine." Her father, after Dumbledore nodded, opened up the garage door and they all piled in the Evans' forest green compact car. Lily's dad drove, with Dumbledore sitting in front to lead the way, and Lily and her mum sat in back. All the way there, her dad was asking questions about the school, including (but definately not limited to) where Lily was to sleep, how many students were at Hogwarts, what there was to eat, when Lily could come home, and how much this was going to cost them. Dumbledore had an answer much like his answer to transportation to each and every question Lily's dad threw at him. Soon, Dumbledore said to park. They all got out and Lily's parents looked around, confused.

"You'll be able to see where we're going if you hold on to Lily," Dumbledore commented, as if he were talking about the weather (Which was, in fact, sunny with a slight southern breeze. Lily felt her dad squeeze her shoulder, and her mum took Lily's hand. As they did so, they gasped. It was if another building had suddenly appeared in a small crack between the two stores next door. As Dumbledore led the group in, he smiled and waved amiably at the bartender, who introduced himself as Tom. As Tom started cleaning out a mug, Dumbledore lead them to a trash can and tapped on the brick that was three up and two across. All three of the Evans's gasped as a small archway appeared, and as they watched, grew bigger and bigger, until it was big enough to accommodate everone.

Dumbledore had already explained to Lily's dad about muggle money and wizard money, so Lily and her mum sat and waited on a bench for the two to return from Gringotts. Lily's mum had auburn hair, much like Lily's, but instead of bright emerald green, she had very dark brown eyes. She looked quite frail, but still looked radiant in the sunlight even with her age. Lily's mum was dressed in a fern green tee shirt and khaki capris, while Lily was decked out in hip-hugger jeans with wide bellbottoms and a tye-dyed tank top.

It took longer than Lily thought a trip to the bank would take, but instead of just Galleons and Sickles and Knuts, her dad was also carrying all of her schoolbooks. "It was right across the way, I thought it would save us some time." Lily nodded.

"We're on to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, now, for your school uniform." He pointed to a shop a little down the way, and they all followed him through the crowds of people and stalls until they got into the store. The moment they got in there, they were immediately attended to by a plump, middle-aged woman in golden orange robes.

"Hogwarts, dear?" The woman smiled, and nodded for her assistant (which looked much like a younger version of Madam Malkin) to bring the robes. The girl scurried off and quickly reappeared holding a huge box of robes. Madam Malkin measured Lily quickly and slipped a robe onto Lily. She made a few minor alterations, but before long Lily was holding a bag carrying three pairs of the required black robes and a coat for winter.

"Now, Miss Evans, why don't you go into Ollivanders and get your wand as your father and I go to get the rest of the things on your list?" Lily nodded at Dumbledore, and proceeded into the wand shop alone. She was jittery with excitement and nervousness as she stood near the door, wondering what to do. Her question was answered when a man stepped out of the shadows. It was quite dim in there, and so all Lily could see that he was a man of average height with dark hair.

"Hello, Miss Evans. I've been expecting you. Hold out your wand hand. Your dominant hand, if you will. Yes."He had an oily voice that was smooth and comforting, and yet still strangely repulsive.A tape measure started measuring Lily as boxes were flying and stacking themselves neatly by Mr. Ollivander. Lily wondered fleetingly how he knew her name, but decided to think that Dumbledore told him earlier. It was easier that way, anyway.

"Try this, Miss Evans. Mahogany, 12 inches, dragon heartstring.. Give it a wave." Lily did so. She was expecting something to happen, but she felt like she was waving a polished stick.She had the urge to make a face, but contained herself as to not look like a complete imbicile.

"Hmm. Beechwood, 10 and three quarters, unicorn hair." Lily waved the next wand, with the same results. Mr. Ollivander snatched the wand away and put another wand in her hand.

"Holly, 8 inches, phoenix feather." Again, nothing. Ollivander kept piling up wands, with different lengths and wood, to no avail. Lily felt like she had tried out hundreds of wands, none of which were having the desired effect. She felt more and more foolish, and couldn't help thinking to herself,' _What if I'm **not** a witch! What if there's been a big mistake, there's another Lily Evans who was supposed to receive the letter, and it went to the wrong person!_' She could hear her sister's nagging voice in her hed. '_I told you so, you're just a **freak**. And now you've blown some of Daddy's money. And he was going to buy me a new radio! You're so **stupid**, Lily!_'

Mr. Ollivander was mumbling. In Lily's trancelike state, she could not pick out a single word that he was saying, buthe summoned a dusty wandbox to him and opened it. He offered it to Lily, and she took it straight from the box. The moment she touched it, her hand tingled, and the wand shined. She barely had to move it, it was already emitting emerald swirls of almost-corporeal smoke. The smoke twisted around Lily happily as Lily sat there, staring at what was happening.

"Yes, yes, there we go. Ten and a quarter, willow, unicorn hair. Good for charm work. Well, I wish you luck at Hogwarts, Miss Evans." Lily paid from her much-lighter moneybag, and left.

Her mother was standing right outside the door, staring at her watch. When she saw Lily, she looked relieved. "Dad and Mr. Dumbledore went to sit at the ice cream parlour until you were done. You've taken a long time, Lily. Whatever were you doing?" Lily just smiled, and walked towards the direction her mum had just pointed. She held her wandbox in one hand and took her mum's hand in the other and dragged her along, not answering her question. She found where the two were sitting, and before Lily could silt down, Dumbledore stood up and smiled amiably.

"Ahh, Lily. You've gotten your wand. Here is all of your other school supplies, remember to bring all of them to Hogwarts. I've already given your father instructions on how you are to get there, and I've got a lot to do before school starts, so I'm off! Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Evans! I'll see you at Hogwarts, Lily!"

CRACK!

Albus Dumbledore was gone.


	2. Set

_Charms_

Chapter Two  
Set...

* * *

About a week later found Lily standing and telling her parents goodbye next to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 at King's Cross station. All of her belongings that she was taking to Hogwarts was piled onto a cart, and there were a few other people who looked like they had the same destination. Lily pushed an errant clump of dark red hairout of her green eyes, and hugged her parents one last time. She said her goodbyes and promised to write. 

"I'll be home for break, so I'll see you for-"

"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" her dad interrupted. "We're going to visit the relatives over Christmas, but we have to leave before your break starts. I've already cleared with the Headmaster that you are to stay at Hogwarts for winter break. So, we'll see you after you've completed your first year!"

"Hurry, Lily, or you'll miss the train!" Her mother's eyes were slightly watery, but she held herself together.

And with that, she leaned against the barrier, eyes alight without a shread of doubt. She went through, and almost fell down. She heard a derisive sneer from an oily looking boy and turned to glare at him. The boy seemed not to notice, and instead quickly stepped on the train.

Lily stood up, dusted herself off, and picked up her baggage off of the cart. She stepped onto the train as a wave of nervousness hit her. She hoped she could find an empty compartment. She walked for a while, looking.

As it was, there were no more empty compartments. However, there was a compartment with one girl in it, who looked friendly enough. She had long black hair, dark blue eyes, a slightly roundish face, grey and white patterned bellbottoms, and a dark grey tee inscribed with the word 'Jinxed' in acid green. Although her face was blank, her lips seemed to naturally curl up in a smile.

"May I sit here?" Lily asked, nervously fingering her hair. The girl grinned.

"Of course, of course! Sit!" Lily proceeded to stuff her bags into an overhead compartment, and sat down. "What's your name?"

"My name's Lily, Lily Evans." After the girl's warm welcome, Lily felt happier.

"I'm Katie Hoobler. You must be a first year, I haven't seen you around before." At that, Lily nodded. Katie continued. "I'm second year, Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw?" Lily asked, hesitantly.

Katie pulled her dark hair into a ponytail absentmindedly. "One of the four houses. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin. You're muggle-born, then?"

"Muggle?" Lily felt like she knew nothing of this new world she was entering.

"Non-magical. I'll take that as a yes." Katie grinned. "I'm pureblood, myself. Not that it means much to people worth hanging out with."

Two more girls entered the compartment. "Tater! Ree! This is Lily Evans, and she's a first year, so be nice. Lily, Valerie Tate, Ria Somers."

In contrast to Katie's dark hair, Valerie Tate was a platinum blonde, with equally light skin.Her eyes were an icy light blue, and her gaze was peircing. Valerie wore a white bellbottom jumpsuit with a slight eyelet print and an angel-sleeved pale blue blouse over top. Her hair was pulled back loosely with a baby blue headband. Lily couldn't tell if Val was going for looking like an angel or an icicle, but she wasn't going to ask. If she hadn't had a smile on her face, Val would have looked quite intimidating. Lily didn't think Katie could look serious if she tried. Ria looked tanner than Val and Katie, and her hair was honey brown. She was much more colorful in her clothing decisions than Val, with bright red bellbottoms with a denim top that looked like it had been made from a pair of regular jeans, and was desheveled in an artsy way. Her face was spattered with freckles, and her mischevious hazel eyes danced as she looked at Lily.

"Hey Lily! I see you've already picked the best bunch to hang out with... Not that I'm bragging, or anything." Ria said, straightfaced. She twiddled her thumbs and whistled slightly.

"Oh yes, we're quite modest and we never lie." Katie retorted. Lily could tell she was biting her tongue to keep from laughing. Katie's face was slightly pink and her eyes were slightly squinted with mirth.

"So, what-" Lily was cut off by a loud whistle from the train, telling everyone that it was departing. She made a face and everyone burst out laughing. "Let's try that again. What houses are you two from?" The two tried to speak at the same time, so it ended up sounding something like Ryffinclor. Katie laughed.

"Okay, one more- Katie, stop tickling me!- time. Ria, what house?" Lily tried talking through her laughter. She had been laughing already, but Katie had decided this would be a good time to tickle Lily unrepentantly, which made everyone laugh harder.

"I'm Gryffindor. I'll see you in the common room, Lily!"

"How? Is she going to sneak in? She's going to be in Ravenclaw, with me and Val!" Katie replied jokingly. "Hey, where's Phae? Did she miss the train?"

Val's expression darkened severely. "I got an owl from her just before we left. Her parents are in St. Mungos." Katie flinched noticeably.

"Did she say why?" asked Ria nervously. Lily didn't know what was going on, except that this was not good, and she only knew that by the obvious expressions on the trio's faces.

"Huge memory charm. Phae's mum doesn't even know her own children. 'Er dad doesn't know what to do. The healers say they don't know when she'll be released." Valerie stopped short, fear obvious on her taut face.

"Why'd they go after 'em? What threat are they?" Ria asked angrily, fury obvious on her face.

"No clue, really. Probably Phae's mum learned something she shouldn't. Phae said she had a secret, but I doubt it would be _that_ imprortant. Lucky she wasn't killed right off," replied Val.

"Poor Phaedra. Is she going to come to Hogwarts, then?" asked Katie, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, she'll be back before classes start tomorrow, unless something goes wrong." Val replied.

"Then, let's hope nothing goes wrong!" Everyone nodded, giving a quick 'yes.' Lily stayed quiet, not exactly knowing what was going on in this rapid exchange. Katie caught her eye, and mouthed "I'll explain later."

"Oh look! Sugar quills!" exclaimed Ria, trying to cheer everyone up as the snack trolley went by. Lily hurriedly pulled out her bag of wizard money, and bought a sugar quill, a chocolate frog, and a licorice wand. The sugar quill was by far her favorite.

After they were done snacking, Katie reminded everyone to change before the train ride was over. Lily followed the trio out of the compartment to go get their robes on. They all took turns getting their robes out of their trunks and walked together to where the girls were slipping on their school robes.

* * *

Katie and Lily were the first two ready, and so they went back to sit in their compartment. Lily rested her head against the window(It was now raining lightly), and Katie casually opened a book (History of Magic, which she had absolutely no interest in). 

"So, Lily, did you understand anything we were talking about?" Katie asked kindly, keeping her voice down.

"Um. Not really... Uh, sorry." Lily replied sheepishly.

"Okay, I'll hurry to fill you in before Tate and Ree come back. St. Mungo's is the magical hospital. Phaedra Banks is also a second year Gryffindor, with Ria. Someone got her mum with a memory charm- that wipes part of your memory, by the way -that blanked out more than the caster wanted, I'm expecting, not like the caster probably cares."

"Thank you.That must be horrid!" Lily shuddered, and went back to staring out the window.

Katie was about to respond when Val and Ria walked back into the compartment. "We went to ask the conductor. We're almost there, good thing we got our robes on when we did." Katie nodded, pretending to be engrossed in her schoolbook. Ria didn't notice what Katie was reading, but Val gave her an odd look. Katie raised her eyebrows, daring Val to confront her.

Ria opened her mouth to say something, but the train whistle cut her off as the train pulled to a stop.


	3. Go!

_Disclamer: Yes, that's right. I don't own any characters that anyone else owns. And I don't own the sorting hat song, Katie made that up for me (cookies-will-invade). I'd say she's a wonderful person, but she keeps yelling things at me that start with up and end with dates... What are those, again?  
_

_Charms_

Chapter Three  
GO!

* * *

"First years, to me, please. First years!" 

Lily went towards the multicolored sparks and the female voice sounding from near the edge of the lake. There were boats lining the shore, and it looked like this was what was going to take her to Hogwarts the rest of the way. She could see a bit of the castle from here.

Other first years were getting in the boats, so she got in an empty one. Shortly after, two girls got into the boat. One looked quite nervous, and had big glasses that she kept pushing back up her nose. The other looked nervous, maybe even more nervous than the first girl, but she was trying to hide it under overdone, intense stubbornness. Neither said a word to Lily as they were taken to the castle, although the second one glared at Lily the entire time.

When they got there, a giant of a man was wating at the gates to let them in. He nodded to their escort, and closed the gates after all of the first years were in. Once the middle-aged, stern faced teacher assembled them, she led them inside and adressed them as a whole.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, I'll be your Transfiguration teacher and head of house for those of you sorted into Gryffindor. Now, when we go into the Great Hall, you will be called one by one, in alphabetical order, to be sorted. Once you have been sorted, take a seat at the proper table. Before going in, place your bags by the door, they will be carried to your rooms after you are sorted."

All around her, she could here some of the students talking about what house they wanted to be in.

_"-hope I get into Ravenclaw, all of my family was, would be horrified if I wasn't-"  
"-don't get into Hufflepuff, I hear they're a bunch of duffers-"  
"Blimey, hope for Gryffindor, they're the best house, and all-"  
"-Obviously be Slytherin because-"_

Lily didn't say a word, but hoped she was either in Gryffindor with Ria or Ravenclaw with Katie and Valerie. After a few minutes, they were led into the Great Hall. They all took seats at an empty table and waited.

Everyone quieted down, and looked expectantly at a battered old hat on a stool. To Lily's surprise, it burst into song!

_Once, so long ago, _

_When I was not so smart, _

_T'were four friends of great renown _

_Who never thought to part. _

_They shared a goal, a common sight _

_And so Hogwarts came to be _

_And watching, silent, from the side _

_An innocent hat like me _

_First of all came Godric, _

_Noble, pure of mind, _

_Like-minded spirits he took in _

_And taught them in his kind _

_Sly Salazar there was, _

_Clever and sharp of wit, _

_Only those of purest blood _

_With whom he'd share his bit _

_Rowena came after, _

_Fair and knowledge filled. _

_Those with the sharpest brains _

_By her would be most thrilled. _

_Sweet Helga followed with, _

_Honest, just, and good, _

_With those leftover from the three, _

_She did all that she could. _

_Four houses named after each, _

_Four families to unite, _

_Which one do you resemble? _

_I'll put you in the right! _

_But for now, I'll say some words _

_You might take to heart _

_This term, before the rest, _

_Find loyal ones at start, _

_Make your friends so dear _

_And never let them fade _

_Trust them most, above yourself _

_And call them first for aid. _

_For coming up, not so far, _

_Will be a time for right _

_You'll need these friends, _

_So dear, so kind, to help you in the fight. _

_And now for fun, now for you _

_The suspense I'll throw away _

_And newcomers no more, _

_Shall join into our fray!_

After that, there was a lot of clapping, and then Professor McGonagall stood back up and started reading off names authoritatively.

"Abbott, Sara."

A scrawny brown-haired girl made her way to the Sorting Hat, sat down, and jammed it on her head. Right after she did, the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Andrews, Michael."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Black, Sirius."

The hat took a little longer debating about the boy that just put him on.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The boy had a huge grin as he walked to the Gryffindor table.

A few more names were called before it was Lily's turn.

"Evans, Lily!"

She walked up nervously and put the hat on her head as she sat down on the stool.

_Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor!_ she thought to herself, and the hat.

_Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, eh? Well, you certainly fit both. But, we'll go with..._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

She made her way happily to go sit by Ria at the Gryffindor table.

"Congrats, Lil!" whispered Ria as Lily sat down kitty-corner from her. Lily grinned.

More names were called, including Davey Gudgeon (Hufflepuff), Remus Lupin (Gryffindor), Peter Pettigrew (Hufflepuff), James Potter (Gryffindor), and Severus Snape (Slytherin). And last of all, was a small girl by the name of Yvonne Zann(Ravenclaw).

Dumbledore finally stood up, and called for attention. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I'd like to say a few words before the feast. Nitwit! Oddment! Blubber! Tweak!"

Lily stared at Professor Dumbledore, and tried to not laugh. She could pick out the first years now, as the ones with the most stunned expression on their faces at their Headmaster's idea of 'a few words.'

Food started appearing on the table, and Lily helped herself to what was near, including pork chops, potato chips, fresh fruit, and peppermint humbugs. Everyone was quiet for a few moments as they took the first bite, but then the conversation came back in full force.

"Lily! Glad you could make it!" remarked Ria joyfully. Ria helped Lily to be introduced to the others near her.

"So, Lily! Ready for your first year at Hogwarts?" asked one fifth-year prefect, Garett Parse.

Lily nodded as she chewed a bite of roast beef. "I hope so."

"Have you ever flown, Lil?" asked a third year, Matilda Spice.

"No, I'm muggleborn. What's it like?"

"Amazing. You'll love learning how. I'm half, me mum's a witch. Boy, was dad surprised!" Lily grinned.

"Since you're muggleborn, Lil, I expect you've never played Quidditch?" Garret tilted his head as he asked Lily.

"Um, no. What is it?" Lily tried a bite of pork chop with unidentifiable gravy.

"The most amazing sport EVER, Lil. And I hear Ria here wants to try out?" Ria nodded casually. "Nick's our Captain, he's a chaser. I'm the Keeper. Tillie here is another Chaser along with Leon Lucian, a fourth year. My brother, Daniel, is a Beater, and Raven Seavert is our Seeker. And, most likely, Ria will be our other Beater. It's a wonderful game, Quidditch is, and-" Garrett was cut off as Dumbledore stood up.

"Now that we've eaten, I've a few more words to say. First off, the Forbidden Forest, as it's name implies, is FORBIDDEN. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Pringle, wants me to remind you that there will be no magic used in the corridors between classes. Quidditch tryouts will be the second week of the term, see Madam Hooch if you desire to try out."

Dumbledore paused a second before continuing. "Everyone, follow your prefects to your respective common rooms. Bed!"

The Gryffindors followed Garrett up a few staircases, in which one first year got stuck in a trick step and two fourth-years helped him back out, down a hall, and around a corner.

"Higglety-Pigglety!" said Garret to a portrait, a picture of a fat lady. It took a few moments, as the portrait seemed to be deep in discussion with another painting.

"Oh, whoops! School's started! That's it, dear!" The portrait swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common rooms, and everyone filed in.

Lily walked up the girl's staircase, and found a door labeled "First Years." She opened the door and stepped inside, to find her stuff on one of the red four-poster beds in the room. She pulled out her pajamas and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready to sleep.

Her other roomates weren't there when she got back from the bathrooms, so she collapsed on her bed and drifted quickly off into dreamland.


	4. Phaedra

_Charms_

Chapter Four  
Phaedra

* * *

"Wake UP, Lil!" Lily groaned, and turned over. The next thing she knew, she was having all sorts of items thrown at her, including books, pillows, a small figurine, two gobstones, and last but not least, a vomit-green Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean. Ria was standing at the foot of her bed, hands on her hips, staring at Lily. Beside her was another girl, slightly taller than Ria, with vivid purple hair and eyes that were dull with worry and sleep deprivation. 

"That's it, I think Lily's really a rock." Ria flung all of Lily's sheets off the bed and dragged her off the mattress as Lily hung onto a pillow.

"No, no, I du'wan'go!" Lily muttered. Ria proceeded to grab a pitcher of water and dump it on Lily's head. "Hey, whazzat for? I'm- unnh -hungry. When's breakfast?"

"Breakfast is right NOW, you ninny! Hurry up, or you won't be able to eat, you'll have to go to class!" Ria took out Lily's schedule. "And, by the looks of it, you've got Defence Against the Dark Arts first. If you hurry, we'll have time to take you there."

"Really, she wants a glance at the new teacher. No one knows who it is yet," the other girl spoke up at last, with a wry smile.

"And you don't think I can't be a good little guide, Phae? Lil, Phaedra Banks. Phae, Lily Evans." Ria rushed them down to the Great Hall for breakfast after making sure Lily had the books she needed for the day. Once Ria sat down, she immediately got a glass of pumpkin juice and a pancake, and wolfed them down. Phae didn't touch a thing, and when asked about it, she said she wasn't hungry. Lily helped herself to a banana and a bagel with some sort of unrecogniseable berry jam, and tried to keep up with Ria.

Soon, she felt a tap on her shoulder. There was Katie and Val, standing behind them. Val yawned, but Katie was already as awake as Ria was. "Good morning, girls!" Katie said in a sing song voice. "Ready for a wonderful day of class? Double potions with the Slytherins, come and get it!" Val and Phae both groaned.

"Lil, you're lucky. You don't have potions until... Let's see... Friday." Ria commented, looking at Lily's schedule.

"What a way to ruin a Friday," muttered Lily, almost inaudibly, but Ria, Phae, Katie, and Val all heard and chuckled.

"Classtime!" shouted Katie, as she grabbed Lily's arm and rushed her down the hall towards the correct classroom. The other girls followed, at a slightly slower pace, since they would have to backtrack a little if they were to get all the way to Lily's first class, and then the Dungeons.

* * *

"Welcome to your first class at Hogwarts. I expect everyone has their books, wand, parchment, quill, and ink?" The class nodded. "Good. I am Professor Banks, and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year." 

At that, Lily wondered if Professor Banks and Phaedra were related, but they looked nothing alike, so she quickly squealched that idea. She took out parchment for notes, and waited.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts is fast becoming one of the most important classes you will ever have at Hogwarts. Can anyone tell me why?"

One boy raised his hand slowly. He was sitting in the middle row, by the window. Professor Banks nodded to him. "You-Know-Who," the boy said shakily.

"And what if I do not know who, Termont?" Professor Banks looked expectantly at the boy that had raised his hand.

"Um... Um... L-L-Lord V-v-vol-vol-de-dem-mort." The boy, Gregory Termont, looked even worse. His hands were white with terror, and he had such a grip on his quill it snapped in half.

"Correct, Termont. Five points to Hufflepuff. Can anyone tell me who this is?" The professor tapped his fingers expectantly on his desk. He was standing, which, if anything, made him even more frightening, seeing as he was somewhere near 6'5", with a muscular build. Termont just seemed thrilled that Banks was no longer asking him anything.

No one else raised their hand.

"Come on, anyone? Nobody knows who this is? Nobody?" Professor Banks kept the fury out of his voice, trying to be as calming as possible. Lily felt like she should raise her hand and say something, but she wasn't sure what to say, being muggle-born and not knowing anything about this Lord Voldemort before class started. She expected that was why the professor was so mad. _But, that's not helping him,_ Lily thought,_ it's making those who DO know too terrified to say!_

Banks muttered something that sounded like 'First Years' darkly, eyes squinted downward. And then, he began to speak again, after a few minutes of total silence besides the drumming of his fingers on the desk. "Voldemort is responsible for fear and terror. He is responsible for the murder of innocent witches and wizards. He and his followers have been lurking around for about two years now, biding their time, gaining followers, teaching them more Dark Magic than anyone could hope to learn from anyone else. It is MY responsibility to teach you how to defend yourselves from him, and anyone who follows, God forbid we even HAVE one with his power ever again!"

At this, he turned to stare at each first-year in turn. As he turned to stare at Lily, she shivered, like a cold wind had come over the entire room and decided to wrap around her innards and squeeze hard. If she were to have looked around, most of the others had the same reaction, but every single eye in the class was trained on Professor Banks.

"Now. You may be wondering what you will learn this year in my class. You will learn basic counter-jinxes, hexes, and defensive spells from now until February. If you are ready, at that time, we will start learning about Dark creatures until the end of the school year. Your first assignment in this class is to research a past Dark wizard and write 3 meters about what they did, why they did it, and their downfall. I expect them to be done by next Monday at the start of class. Start now. There are books (as he said this, he pointed to a bookshelf in the back corner) here, and if anyone needs an extra quill, come get one from my desk."

The class rose and piled into the back corner. Lily grabbed the first book she could, which was a voluminous leather-bound book, with no title or author. The outside was completely black. She sat back at her desk and let the book fall open, hoping she could pick at random who she would write about. She picked up her quill and started furiously writing notes down on parchment, and got lost in her work.

Ten minutes later, the professor quietly said class was dismissed, but Lily was reluctant to go. She knew she couldn't be late for class, however, and quickly packed her bag and hurried off to her next scheduled class, which happened to be Charms.

On the way there, she bumped into an anorexic-looking Slytherin. "Watch where you're going, freak!" the girl snarled as she pulled out her wand, presumeably to hex Lily.

"Don't you dare, Narcissa." It was Ria, taking a fighting stance beside Lily. Narcissa, looking taken aback, replied with utter loathing, "Aww, poor ikkle firstie can't handle anything, has to be taken care of?" But, with that, Narcissa slipped away.

"You okay, Lil? She didn't try anything, did she?" Ria took Lily's shoulders and spun her around to look her in the eye searchingly.

"No no, I'm fine. Really. I have to get to class." Lily responded, slightly humiliated, but still relieved that Ria had come.

Ria raised one eyebrow. "Oh? Charms, I presume, by the way you're headed. I'm on to Transfiguration, myself. Took a detour, though, can't find Phae." She wrinkled up her nose, and was off. "See ya, Lil!"

"Yeah, bye, Ria!" Lily replied, before rushing off to class.


	5. Talent

_Charms_

Chapter Five  
Talent

* * *

"Welcome! Welcome to Charms! I am Professor Flitwick, and I will instruct you in this wonderful aspect of magic." The short Professor stood up on his chair behind his desk as the class piled in. Lily took the last seat, seeing as she was delayed in the halls, in the right hand corner of the front row. 

"Now, where did you just come from? Defense Against the Dark Arts? Well then, you've already gotten a lecture on how important certain classes are, and I'm sure you will have more of those to come. So, let's just begin! Take out your wands! We will start with a quite useful, but simple, charm to make objects lighter. Watch, please!"

Professor Flitwick took out his wand, and in a graceful twist of his wrist, firmly recited the incantation. "Levis!"

He smiled at the class. "Now, who thinks they can lift my desk?" A black haired boy raised his hand and walked to the front of the class. He turned around, grinned at the class, and flexed his muscles jokingly. He reached under it, and expecting it to be quite light, almost dropped the unexpected weight on his foot. The class laughed heartily as the boy raised one eyebrow at the Professor.

"Whoops! I must have accidentally muttered the counter-charm while you were preparing to lift my desk!" Professor Flitwick gave a big grin, and repeated the charm.

The boy, still straining to hold the desk off of his foot, jumped back as the force he used to hold the desk up flung his side of the desk up in the air! The professor winked, swished his wand, and the desk was stable again. "Five points to Gryffindor for a great volunteer!" The boy pretended to run back to his desk in slow-motion, giving high-fives to everyone he could, and stopping to jump in the air before returning to his desk. Another black haired boy, this one with hazel eyes and glasses, leaned over and they laughed silently together.

"If you will notice now, that I have put weights on your desks? Try picking them up now." Lily hesitantly took hold of the weight and tried to lift it, to no avail. Most of her classmates, she noticed as she looked around, were having the same problem. She stopped trying, and instead started waiting for the Professor to let them try the incantation. Soon everyone else was doing the same, and just when people were thinking they could talk to those sitting next to them, Professor Flitwick spoke up again.

"Now, twist your wrist so that your wand moves in a small circle, first away from you, then back in, and finally back where it started. You should start with your palm down, and end up with your palm up. Remember, the word is 'Levis!'" He gave the class a big grin, and then watched as the class of first year Gryffindors all tried the spell. Two seats behind Lily, a small boy with a pasty complexion was enormous amounts of trouble with it, finally giving into whacking it repeatedly with his wand until Professor Flitwick made him stop.

Lily looked at her weight, twisted her wrist, and murmured 'Levis' quietly. She went to pick up the weight and found, to her surprise, that it was considerably lighter. Flitwick, who had been watching Lily from the corner of his eye, came over to her, his eyes shining.

"Great job, Lily! If you would, try the charm out a few more times, and then, if you'd like, go around and help those near you?" Lily nodded, beaming with pleasure. Flitwick turned away, then spun back. "Oh, I suppose you need it to be heavy again? Just do the same motion in reverse, with a slight flick at the end, and the word is 'Gravis.'" He turned away again, but continued to watch Lily as he went to help someone in the back row.

Lily put the weight back on the table, reversed the twist, flicked her wand, and said with more confidence than before, "Gravis!" She tried picking it up, and the weight was as heavy as it had started out with, when Lily first tried to pick it up. She went through the incantation to make it light, and then heavy again, a few more times, each one with the same results.

Professor Flitwick was beaming.

* * *

"So, Lil! How was your first morning of classes? Meet anyone worth knowing?" Phae's violet eyes danced mischeviously. 

"So that was your dad, then? I wondered, but you two look nothing alike!" Phae nodded, and the next moment, Phae looked much more like her dad.

"Phae, are you tormenting dear old Lilykins, here? What Phee-Bee isn't telling you is that she's a Metamorphmagus. She can change her shape at will." And to prove what Ria was saying, Phae had changed her eyes from a deep purple to copper, and her hair was now chocolate brown with caramel streaks. Her cheekbones, chin, and nose had also undergone a slight change, and the angles were now sharper.

"Anyway, before this pest came over, I was asking how it was having my dad as a teacher. Any thoughts, Lily?" Phaedra put special emphasis on the words 'pest' and 'Lily' as she pretended that Ria wasn't there.

"Ahh, I can see when I'm not wanted." And with that, Ria sat down right next to Phae and started poking her in the side. Phae tried to ignore it, but Lily started cracking up.

"Well, he was amazing. He held everyone's attention. Really felt like he knew his stuff."

"Sounds like he's an improvement over last years techer, Phae!" Ria didn't stop poking Phae. "Professor Veich was an idiotic git." Phae shuddered.

"I don't think I learned anything at all with him! I hope Dad doesn't think we're all a lot of dunderheads."

Lily grinned. "We were with the Hufflepuff first years this morning. He scared one witless, I think he's still shaking."

"It's lunch, let's go see!" The three of them ran out of the common room and down a hall, where they suddenly got soaking wet!

"PEEVES!" Ria screamed, looking around. All of them had stopped, Phae had adopted a fighting stance.

"Aww, poor liddle twosies, ooh, and a firstie! I thought water would make you grow!" And with that, Peeves zoomed backwards through a wall. Ria muttered darkly as she tried to shake some water out of her hair.

"Peeves is so much funnier when he's not dumping water on me." Phae said ruefully as she grinned. Ria nodded, and the three walked on.


	6. Lunch Lessons

_Charms_

Chapter Six  
Lunch Lessons

* * *

Ria, Phaedra, and Lily were only slightly less wet as they entered the Great Hall. Most of the students were already there, so they were lucky to find a few open seats. There were more students that looked like they had met Peeves in the hall, and were just as thrilled to be soaking wet. 

"Exaresco!" Lily spun around to see Garret Parse grinning behind her, waving his wand. "I thought you looked a bit damp. Feel better?" Lily nodded, quite happy to be dry again.

"Thank you, I thought I'd be wet forever!" She grinned, playing up the 'disaster' of being wet. Garret, with a flourish of his right arm, bowed deeply.

"Glad to be of service!" They both laughed, Garret dried Ria and Phae, and they all sat down. Lily filed the incantation into memory, feeling like it would come in useful.

Across from her, she noticed, sat the first year who had volunteered in Charms. He had fathomless grey eyes that were trained on her. She looked straight back and raised her eyebrows, which made the boy laugh. His laugh was almost barklike, Lily realized, but made little note of it.

"And you are?" Lily asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Sirius Black. So, you're Professor Flitwick's prodigy? Violet said she was sitting by you and you managed the spell the first time, and the counter-spell."

Lily blushed slightly. "Well, um, I guess. Nice work on the desk, back there."

Sirius laughed again. "You still haven't told me your name! Now, Miss Mysterious, you know the rules, I say my name, which prompts you to say yours, which, in fact, you haven't done yet!"

"I'm Lily." She took her first bite of a sandwich.

"Lily, eh? No last name, just Lily? Or should I make up a last name?" Lily quickly swallowed and took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"No, no! Evans! Lily Evans!" Sirius grinned, and seconds later he was forcefully pulled out of his chair by two other Gryffindor first years, one was the other black haired boy Sirius had been talking to in Charms, and the other had light brown hair.

"Lily, I'm sorry you have to meet these heavy-handed brutes, James Potter and Remus Lupin, don't know how they escaped, but-" His voice faded as he was dragged out into the corridor.

"Ria, Phae, Lil, come walk outside with us!" Katie was standing behind them with Valerie. Lily glanced at her sandwich, took one more bite, downed it with more pumpkin juice, and stood up with Ria and Phae to join Katie and Val in going outside.

They walked back into the corridor and out the door, into the fresh air. Katie and Ria were already rushing to a tree close by the lake. Phae and Lil raced to catch up with them, but Valerie was still walking placidly.

When Lily got to the tree, she stretched out on her stomach, with her hands propping up her head. They all started talking about their summers, and told Lily more about Hogwarts, before Ria told everyone what happened in the halls.

"So, you've made your first enemy, Lil? Good choice, very good choice. She can't do much to you, and she's always swooning over Malfoy, like he's something special." Val remarked, contemplatively.

"Yeah? But if Malfoy finds out, I'm betting he'll decide to use Lily to try out a new hex or two. Not that that will be a change from last year. He seems to find great pleasure in picking on first years. I think it's the only thing he really can-" Katie paused, stood up, and brushed herself off. "Well, speak of the devil... Or at least his little minion." Katie and Lucius Malfoy took out their wands at the same time. She raised her eyebrows as he sneered at her. "What a... pleasant... surprise! Come to join the party?"

"CRU-" Malfoy started to say, but was interrupted.

"TRIDUUM NOCEO!" A stream of bright orange sparks jumped from Katie's wand to Malfoy's, up his arm, and then spread through every vein, every muscle, of his body. He twitched and crumpled to the ground as Katie looked on disdainfully. "I never want to see you again. What a slimy git. Let's go, girls." She nodded calmly to the group, and they all got up and left.

Ria was the first one to talk after they were all inside the castle. "Good thing we studied those ourselves, Katie. That was amazing."

Lily nodded. "I want to learn. What was that, anyway?" She looked at Katie, but it was Phae that answered.

"Triduum means three days, Noceo means hurt, or inflict pain. He'll be in pain for three days, nothing can help him, but it recedes a dull ache after the first few minutes. I don't think he'd go to the Hospital Wing, not for that, but he won't want to do much, which means he won't be bothering any of us for a few days." She smiled, and continued. "Over Christmas break last year we spent hours with our eyes glued to my dad's books that he sent us. I hope you'll join us this year?" Lily nodded.

"We can work on getting you up to speed during lunch until then." Katie remarked firmly. "Lunch is best, then detentions don't usually get in the way." Ria whistled a merry little tune at this, trying to be the epitome of innocence.

"From what I hear, Lily's a fast learner, so it won't be hard to teach her." Phae remarked.

Lily blushed.


	7. Recruit

_Charms_

Chapter Seven  
Recruit

* * *

The past few days, for Lily, had been very stressful. New concepts, new spells, new foods, new patterns. A whole new way of life. She still wasn't quite sure she fit in; so many of the rest of her year were so much more confident than she, and the older students even more so. But she would adjust, like all others, to this. 

She strolled to the library, as leisurely... and as hopelessly lost... as she possibly could be. But as she turned a corner, there it was. She must had been wandering the previous corridor for ages without even realizing she was so close to her goal.

Her goal, in fact, was reconnaissance. She had been briefed on her mission - Find Phae, who would have books waiting for her, make sure neither Katie nor Tater saw her, and get back to Ria. Simple in words, complicated in practice... especially during your first week at school.

How was she about to find Phae without alerting the Ravenclaws in the group? She grumbled inwardly and caught herself scuffing her feet on the carpet. Now, that wouldn't help her cause, now would it? She picked up her heels and continued on, grabbing a random book out of a nearby shelf to cover her face. In true secret agent style, she slinked across the entire length of the library to the far back corner.

Three leather chairs were evenly spaced on one side of a long oval table. Luckily for Lily, the chairbacks faced her instead of the person sitting in the middle one. She wasn't sure if it was Phae or not. It was kind of hard to tell sometimes, seeing as she could change her looks at will. There were three books shoved under the person's chair. Not far enough that Lily was comfortable with what she was about to do; however, she did it anyway.

Sneaking up on whoever occupied the chair took all of Lily's nerve. She combined a slide and a crouching tiptoe to accomplish the task at hand and after a few long moments of heart-pounding silence, she placed her now clammy hands on the books. She picked up all three slowly and brought them to herself, then made an exit in the form of darting behind a bookshelf a few rows away. Looking at the titles of the books, she was pretty sure these were the ones.

She made her way to the front of the library, checked out the books, and steeled herself for her next task - getting back to the common room.

* * *

"Lily! You took long enough, did you complete your super secret mission?" Ria asked, with extra dramatic flair. Lily giggled and held out the three books from under the chair. "Yep, these are the ones! Congratulations on completing your first mission. Go treat yourself to a cookie, me mum owled them to me while you were gone. They're delicious, as long as you're not allergic to peanut butter." 

"Oh, no, I'm not." Lily walked over to the table on which the cookies sat and took one, took a bite, and munched contentedly. "These are really good!" And too soon, her cookie was gone.

"Okay, break's over! Time to get this show on the road. Chop chop!" Ria looked like a drill sergeant now, Lily found it fitting to salute the second year and march up the stairs to Ria, Phae, and all the other second year Gryffindor girls whose names still eluded Lily. She wasn't exactly the best at remembering names and attatching those names to the correct faces.

"Before we begin our lesson today, I'm going to re-brief you on your objectives. Meet all of your objectives and you will be rewarded. You know the bet: Beat both Katie and Tate in an organized duel in the common room in two day's time - if you win, you get a prize. If you don't... well... We'll figure that out later. Gotta keep you motivated, you know? Now, I'm not going to tell you who's going to give you more trouble, but I can tell you their strengths and weaknesses. First, Katie. She's crazy good at transfiguration, great at evading spells, but she's not very patient. Take advantage of that. And Valerie... Hm. Well, to tell the truth, she hasn't really let on to her strengths. Don't try to sneak something in, she notices everything. She's ready for anything. It's like she can read your mind, or something. Crazy. And she's very, very patient. But she's not as in to agressive spells. Got it?" Lily nodded. "Good."

"First, we'll work on simple defense spells. Expelliarmus. Protego. That sort of thing. I'm not going to ask if you're ready, because it makes no difference. We're starting anyways." Ria looked over at Lily as if daring her to refuse. Lily's vivid green eyes flashed with determination, wand at the ready.

"Say it with me. Ex... pel...ee...AR...mus." Lily repeated what Ria had exaggeratedly pronounced.

"Good. Now, you have to say it like you mean it. Face me, look me in the eye, hold your wand out steadily, and say it like you mean it."

"Expelliarmus!" Lily half-shouted, pointing her wand at Ria, who raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"No, no. More power. You're not going to have any effect on anyone that way. Except for that one mousy kid in Hufflepuff... whatever his hame is. But that's not who you're duelling! Again."

"Expelliarmus!" Lily did shout this time, to some effect. Ria's wand was not so much thrown out of her hand as it was lightly dropped; it made a slow descent to the ground, which it didn't ever hit. Ria snatched it back before it was even halfway there.

"Keep practicing, and you'll get it. Now, rapid fire. Keep hitting me with it every time I get my wand back, see how far away you can get it to go... and how fast." Ria winked and lazily fingered her wand. "Go."

"Expelliarmus!" Ria almost dropped her wand, but didn't. "Expelliarmus!" Ria's wand dropped slowly again; Ria quickly grabbed it again. "Expelliarmus!" It was launched a little bit to the side of Ria, making Ria lunge for her wand. "Expelliarmus!" Now the wand went more back and to the left, Ria had to take a step before she could reach out and get her wand back. "Expelliarmus!" Her wand flew back and hit the stone wall behind Ria, it took a few moments for her to get it back. "Expelliarmus!" Ria stumbled backwards, her wand flew forwards and into Lily's outstretched hand. Lily mimicked Ria's eyebrow raise and held the wand out to Ria.

"So, you've gotten that down pretty well." Ria wore a pleased smile on her face. "As a reminder, you'll have to get them off balance for the best effect, but I think you've got it. On to shield charms, then?"

The lessons with Ria went on for the next two days, for hours at a time. After her lesson, she was assigned to look over and practice spells from the books she had gotten. Coupled with the group practices with Phaedra, Katie, and Valerie, Lily (and her wand) was close to exhaustion. And with her classes, it was very close to being too much. But Lily was steadily launching herself headlong into her studies, impressing especially Professor Flitwick and sometimes Professor Slughorn (her potions teacher) and Professor McGonagall (transfiguration).

It was going to be a long few days before the duels.


	8. Author's Note and Trials and Tribulation

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

No more will be written in this story. I intend to decide whether I will start a new one with the information about the Marauder years at Hogwarts (and Lily's friendship with a certain someone, and stupid Pettigrew being a confirmed Gryffindor...how he got into that house, I'll never be sure. Maybe he implored it of the Hat?).

However, if you have not yet read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows... Get off your computer and do so! It is quite good... I got it from the local Walmart late Saturday, and I've already re-read it even though I didn't read it much at all Sunday for I was too busy with priori incant- I mean, prior commitments. Also, if you are able to, listen to the following songs while reading. When I was reareading it, just so happened that the songs were playing... and they fit crazy good.

All by t.A.T.u. And if you can't get a hold of the song, email me at almiria at gmail dot com nicely and I'll see about arranging it. And don't worry, the reasons are somewhat cryptic. I tried to keep them spoiler-free! And they are not in order of events in the book. I recommend just playing them on random repeat and see if they connect.

_**Friend or Foe**_ for the parts questioning a mentor's advice and past life and such.

_**Thirty Minutes**_ for the parts when an ultimatum is issued and information is revealed.

**_Show Me Love_** for when tempers flare and words are regretted.

_**All About Us**_ for times when... well, a lot.

_**We Shout**_ for various times, also for some of the same reason as Friend or Foe and All About Us

_**Perfect Enemy**_ for when the tables are turned and things are not as they seem, starting with the relished lie.

_**Dangerous and Moving**_ for many times also.

There are a few others by t.A.T.u. that connect quite well, but it take a while to list them all, and 7 is quite a good number, don't you think?

However... I do not believe in letting the first half of the eighth chapter go to waste. This is the last you will see of Phae, Ria, Tater, and Katie unless another certain someone decides to adopt.

_Charms_

Chapter Eight  
Trials and Tribulation

* * *

The day had come. Armed with more information and spells that Lily ever thought possible to learn, Lily waited on her bed. Phae, it turned out, was in charge of setting everything up flawlessly - making sure Garret wouldn't interfere (which wasn't very hard), clearing the center of the common room and providing seating all around the sides, putting up a magical shield that would stop any badly aimed spells and make sure no one but Katie, Lily, and Valerie entered the duelling area. The knowledge of Phaedra's advanced wandwork made Lily glad she wasn't duelling her, but she wasn't sure if Val and Katie would be any better. 

Katie Hoobler and Valerie Tate: black and white, yin and yang, offense and defense. They had a completely opposite way of doing things. She had half an hour for a break between duels, longer if nessesary. She wasn't sure who she was up against first; it was up to a coin flip. Heads or tails. She still wasn't exactly sure how she was going to deal with what Katie and Val threw at her, but it was too late to worry about that. She'd just have to go with it.

It was 3PM on the first Saturday she ever spent at Hogwarts. She was to start at four. She stretched out slightly, to try and get rid of the tenseness. Phae and Ree bounced up to her; they were almost, well... _giddy._

"Why are you two so incessantly happy?" Lily asked, quite sure that they were up to no good.

"Well, we've trained you so well you're sure to whomp them, silly!" Ria said with a huge smile on her face.

"Indubitably!" Phae chipped in. "Do you have a strategy?" Lily shook her head.

"_Lil-leeeee! _You're supposed to know these things by now!" Ria whined.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just couldn't think!"

Phae raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't think? Or you didn't?"

"Um... yes?"

"Obviously. Now, our side of the bargain says that we cannot strategize for you. We can help you learn spells, but that's about it." Phae wrinkled her nose.

"It's about time. You better get ready, we're going to help filter people in." Lily nodded, and the pair turned and left.

* * *

"Okay, so strategizing isn't her strong point." Ria was standing by the portrait hole door, propping it open with her shoe. Phaedra stood slightly behind her, shoulders against the wall. 

"We don't know that. We do know she's not trying." Phaedra wrinkled her nose again and started drumming on the wall behind her.

Ria turned to face Phae, not noticing that the portrait shut on a poor Hufflepuff. "Give her a break, okay? It's her first week, all this is new to her. Lucky for us she's a quick study, or we wouldn't be even close to ready. Remember what our main objective is for this."

"Drop the mission-objective stuff. It's getting tedious, Ree. And yes, I do remember. Test Lily's ability while showing her off so people don't think she's just a muggle-born punching bag. Yeah, yeah, I get it." Phaedra rolled her eyes.

Ria huffed and spun back around, pushing the portrait door back open to reveal the little first year Hufflepuff, who had been fidgeting uncomfortably in the hall the whole time. "You better get it, Phae." She motioned for the young boy to come in, and he promptly scurried inside and got seated.


End file.
